Hatu Sheikh has navigated the Web3 and crypto industries during some of their toughest times, which has helped him develop into one of the most trusted and innovative minds in the space.
Not many people can say they entered the crypto industry during one of its darkest periods and came out having reshaped it, but Hatu Sheikh can. From his early days as a strategic advisor helping fledgling crypto projects find their footing, to co-founding DAO Maker and later building CoinTerminal, Sheikh’s journey in Web3 is one defined by conviction, intellectual rigour and an unwavering belief that decentralised finance should work for everyone, not just the privileged few.
Rooted in a strong academic background in mathematical economics and a fascination with how capital flows on the internet, Hatu Sheikh has approached every chapter of his Web3 career with the same systems-level thinking that set him apart from the very beginning.
Who is Hatu Sheikh?
Hatu Sheikh is a Web3 entrepreneur, a co-founder of DAO Maker and the founder of CoinTerminal, two of the most influential launchpad platforms in the crypto industry and in Dubai. He has been involved in Web3 since 2017, advising dozens of teams while seed investing in over 100 projects.
Driven by a lifelong commitment to making decentralised finance fairer for retail investors, Hatu Sheikh has spent nearly a decade building systems that challenge the dominance of insiders and institutions in the crypto space.
How Hatu Sheikh’s academic research laid the foundation for his Web3 career
Hatu Sheikh’s career in Web3, particularly in the development of decentralised launchpads and high-frequency trading tools, was directly established by his academic training in mathematical economics and finance, along with his specialised research on crowdfunding optimisation.
Hatu builds on his earlier work in financial target optimisation to make the shift from theoretical research to practical, data-driven blockchain applications like Dynamic Coin Offerings (DYCOs) and the CoinTerminal platform which Sheikh pioneers to this day, cementing him as one of the most trusted and efficient heads in his industry.
Hatu Sheikh’s journey in Web3
From his academic roots in mathematical economics to co-founding one of Web3’s most recognised and trusted launchpads and then building an entirely new model from the ground up, every step of Hatu Sheikh’s journey has been shaped by one persistent question: how does capital move on the internet, and who truly benefits from it?
By keeping a keen eye on financial markets, the broader Web3 industry and market trends, Sheikh has managed to balance both Web3 and digital innovation with sound financial experience and efficiency, which he continues to do to this day.
The pioneering approach of Hatu Sheikh to blockchain in 2017
It was this academic grounding that made blockchain so compelling to Hatu Sheikh. When he discovered the world of decentralised finance and crypto, he saw a technology that had the potential to finally answer that question in a meaningful way, a system where retail investors could access opportunities that had historically been reserved for institutions and insiders.
From permissionless transactions to fractional ownership, retail investors came to crypto with a dream and Hatu identified this early on. The unbanked and underdogs had a real shot at financial freedom for the first time in global economic history. That possibility drew Hatu Sheikh in, and it has never let him go.
Hatu Sheikh’s first steps in Web3 and crypto
Since before 2017, Hatu Sheikh has been involved in Web3, providing guidance to numerous teams and making seed investments in more than 100 projects.
He was not involved in the early stages as just a founder or trader, but rather as a strategist and trusted and key expert; someone who grasped how to position projects, convey their value and cultivate communities capable of supporting a token’s sustained growth, which Sheikh is still a big proponent of doing through all his projects and companies..
The Hatu Sheikh crypto and tech path
It wasn’t until 2018 that Hatu Sheikh officially moved to the blockchain and crypto industry. Hatu was initially involved with projects looking to improve their brand representation and token economies and also helped them bootstrap funds through private sales and ICOs.
After working with several projects across domains, Sheikh realised how venture capital was becoming more of a bane than a boon, with VCs often putting immense pressure on entrepreneurs to scale rapidly over short durations. These lessons and learnings have helped Hatu Sheikh shape himself into one of the pioneers of the modern day Web3, crypto and tech spaces.
How Hatu Sheikh became one of Web3’s most active innovators
Hatu Sheikh has built himself into a true expert in tokenomics, growth marketing and decentralised fundraising based on his experience as a co-founder of the launchpad DAO Maker, one of the biggest launchpads.
Hatu Sheikh became one of Web3’s most active advisors. Since 2017, he has been active in the blockchain industry, providing advice to numerous teams, making seed investments in more than 100 projects, and concentrating on the creation of community-focused environments within DeFi and GameFi.
The continuation of Hatu Sheikh’s journey in Dubai and Web3
Hatu Sheikh selected Dubai as the hub for his Web3 ventures, such as the Dubai Fintech District, because of the city’s exceptional blend of proactive regulatory transparency, access to a varied and “hungry” global talent pool and its strategic location bridging Asian and European markets, all of which are always on the mind of Hatu Sheikh as he continues his own innovative journey.
